


What Is This Life That We Are Living? (Superwholock)

by fallofthereichenbach



Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV), Supernatural (TV), Superwholock - Fandom
Genre: F/F, High School AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-04-25 22:43:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4979476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallofthereichenbach/pseuds/fallofthereichenbach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean Winchester have just moved from America to England after the death of their mother.</p><p>Sherlock Holmes is desperately trying to find something, anything that will help to pass the year at school he'll undoubtedly being bored again.</p><p>The loner that most call 'The Doctor' has once again showed up for the beginning of term.</p><p>How do these stories link together? That's a bloody good question.</p><p>Throw in some cute boys, kidnappings, romance, and exams, and you have something magical - a SuperWhoLock high-school AU.</p><p>AM PROBABLY NEVER GOING TO FINISH THIS, SO READ IT AT YOUR OWN RISK</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write something Superwholock. So here it is!

"Rise and shine, Sammy!" Dean grinned, pulling open his brother's curtains sharply. Sam sat up groggily, and groaned.

"Dean, it's 7:30 am. What the hell are you doing, man?"

"It's called a positive attitude, little brother. We're starting school today!"

"Wow, you're already dressed and everything. Who are you?!"

Just over a month ago, Sam and Dean Winchester had moved all the way from America to England, to stay with their Aunt Jody. It was considered a 'fresh start'. There was supposed to be a particularly good school in the area, where Sam could start year 10 and his exams - and, since they also took in and taught college-age kids, Dean was going to go too.

Neither of them wanted to discuss the events that led to the big move, but Dean had made a promise with himself: things were going to be better now. Sam was going to get a good education, he was going to make friends, and he was going to pass his exams, even if it meant Dean had to physically force him. Things would be better than last time. They had to be.

Jody Mills was lovely. She was some distant relative that they had talked to over Skype once or twice; widowed, no children, incredibly kind but also pretty strict. Their dad had palmed them over to her as quickly as he could. He hadn't even bothered to fly over with them.

Not that Dean really cared about that. He and his dad didn't really get on. (Understatement of the century)

 

And now they were starting at the big fancy British school. Reichenbach Academy. Jesus Christ.

 

"Hey Sammy," Dean smirked, as he followed his brother out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen, where the alluring smells of toast and bacon wafted toward them, "D'you think they'll all talk really posh, like the queen?"

"Dean, you seem to be forgetting that we're in proper, non-royal London. No one talks like the queen here," Aunt Jody was busy frying bacon and buttering bread, but she waved the spatula in her hand in a vaguely threatening way at the boys, "Now, get some plates and cutlery, please."

They sat down to eat, though neither Dean nor Sam had the stomach for such a hearty breakfast so early in the morning, when nerves had already taken over their bodies.

Jody could sense their worries like flies in the air, hovering over the table, so she tried her best to comfort them.

"The first day is always the worst. Or at least, it always feels the worst. It's actually pretty good - you never end up getting much work done, and it can be kind of exciting meeting new people."

Both of the Winchesters gave her a clear 'are-you-kidding-me' look, and she raised her hands in a sign of peace.

"I'm just saying, things are never as bad as you think they will be. You guys won't be the only new kids this year, and the classes and teachers always change each year anyway, so no one knows whether they'll end up with their friends. You're all in the same boat... It'll be fine, okay? Now eat your breakfast, and I'll drive you there on my way to work."

After a few more minutes of pushing food around on plates, they helped Jody to clear the table, and rushed to get bags and shoes. 

"Will we need coats? It's pretty cold."

"Are you kidding me, Sam? It's barely the end of summer - it's actually really hot right now."

"... It's raining, Jody."

"It's always raining. You get used to it."

Reluctantly leaving the coats behind, they hopped into Jody's car. She worked with the local police, so she usually had to be at work even earlier than they had to be in school. But today she was taking a few hours in the morning off, so that she could drop them off and get them sorted out. Dean was quietly grateful that he didn't have to face it all by himself again.

A few minutes later, they pulled up at the big building, with a small collection of little buildings beside it. Reichenbach Academy. Daunting and powerful on the outside, but surprisingly bright and noisy inside.

Dean fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. Then the neck of his tie. Then the sleeves of his blazer.

"Why do we have to wear uniform? Hell, I'm in college, why do I have to wear the uniform?"

"Because it's smart. And it's the rules," Jody sighed, having had the exact same conversation with both Winchesters multiple times.

"It looks stupid."

"Sssssh."

 

Jody calmly strode inside the building, tall and imposing in her own police uniform. Dean and Sam trailed behind her, feeling like lost little ducks. They must have made an odd trio to any watching bystanders. Sam wondered whether people thought he and his brother were already in trouble with the police on the first day.

A few students milled about by classrooms and in the corridors. Dean tried to make a note of all to staircases and rooms they went past, but there were too many to count. He also tried to ignore the curious looks that seemed to come from all around, but those also were too numerous.

Eventually, they reached a small room entitled 'Office'. Clearly whoever's office it was, was too important to need a name.

Sam wondered why they had taken such a torturous route to the Office, rather than just going into the reception. However, his wonders were soon made redundant, as a man walked out of the room, and greeted them. He was of average height (which meant smaller than both Dean and Sam), and had greying hair and a beard. He had a gruff voice, and looked like someone more suited to working as a mechanic than at a school.

"Jody! I feel like I haven't seen you in years! I suppose these would be Dean and Sam, then?"

"Yep," Jody smiled, and then looked at the two Winchesters awkwardly standing there, "Boys, this is Bobby Singer, or Mr Singer as you'll call him. He's the headmaster here at Reichenbach."

Mr Singer led them into his Office, and sat them down at chairs by his desk.

"I believe I have your timetables here somewhere..." He said, shuffling around some papers on a stack so tall it was about to fall. Eventually, he unearthed a few crumpled pieces of paper, and handed them over, along with two photocopied maps of the school.

"Thanks," Dean muttered, staring at them. The map was reasonably easy to understand, but the timetable was difficult to decipher; lots of strings of letters and numbers that seemed to be in code. 

"That there's your class code, it's not too important, just tells you what set you're in. There's your room number, and you can find where the room is on the map. And there's your teacher's initial - and see, at the bottom, there's the key that you can look at with a list of your teachers," Mr Singer said, probably sensing the confusion, and pointing at different points on the timetable. Dean nodded, and shoved it into his pocket.

"Oh, and here's a run-through of the day. It gives you the timings of the lessons and breaks etc."

After handing them yet another sheet of paper, Mr Singer leant back on his chair and seemed to study them. Jody took the opportunity to jump in,

"Thanks again, Bobby. I know it can't have been easy to schedule them in with such short notice."

"It was no trouble," Mr Singer simply waved his hand, "After I heard about everything that happened... Well, it was the least I could do."

Maybe he noticed the way that both boys stiffened at the mere mention of what happened. Maybe he knew automatically that it had been a no-go area. Either way, he didn't mention it again, instead asking whether anyone had any questions.

After there was a joint murmur of 'no' and some shaking of heads, he smiled and gently dismissed them.

 

More students had arrived since they had been in the office, and more people were staring at them. Jody checked the time, and looked at them.

"Right. It's 8:30 now. What time does the warning bell go for you to start making your way to Tutor Time?"

"Um... 8:35," Sam said, with a hint of nerves, "So Tutor Time is that class we go to in the mornings for like twenty minutes and talk and stuff?"

"Yeah," said Jody gently. "... I should probably be getting off. Unless you want me to walk you to your lessons?"

She grinned wickedly, and Dean jumped in. The thought of having a police escort to classes wasn't exactly a great one. Besides, he didn't need help, like some small kid. It was just school. No big deal.

"Nah, I think we'll be fine, eh Sammy?"

"Yep."

Jody shook her head at them, then walked away. She seemed reluctant to leave them in an environment that they clearly didn't know, but she wasn't one to linger and hold them back if they didn't want her to.

"Right," said Dean, turning back to Sam, "Where's your Tutor room?"

Sam took a few minutes to consult the numerous sheets of paper he'd stuck in his pocket.

"Uhm... It's up on the second floor... In the English corridor."

"Okay. Mine's... On the first floor... Down in the Design Technology wing... I'll walk you to your's then."

"Dean, I don't need you to escort me to my classes."

"No, I know. Just to Tutor, because it's not a real class."

Sam rolled his eyes, and they made their way up the nearest staircase to the top floor. With a lot of looking at the map (the building wasn't that big?? Why was it so confusing???) they finally reached Sam's Tutor room. A few kids lingered outside, and Sam didn't look back at his brother before moving to a space in the line that was forming.

Dean shook his head, and walked away. He hoped his brother would be okay, but now it was time to worry about himself. He had to get to his Tutor room in... Two minutes. Well, that was just when the bell went that said he had to start getting there... Christ, the layout and timetable of this school was confusing.

Not much interesting was happening. The students that walked past him didn't take much notice of him, now that he'd lost the younger brother and the formidable looking policewoman. It was almost boring, until Dean walked straight into one of the other students.

They had both been absorbed completely in studying their maps and timetables, and therefore had collided at full force.

"Christ, sorry mate," said the boy. He had sandy hair, and was quite short but stocky.

"Nah, that's okay. Hey - are you new too?"

"What gave it away?" The boy said sarcastically, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes.

"I'm Dean, in Year 12... I don't really know where I'm going," Dean went on conversationally. After all, it's not like he had that much dignity left. Why not beg for help and direction from a stranger?"

"Literally same. My name's John, and I'm also in Year 12. Please tell me we're in the same Tutor?"

They compared timetables.

"Yeah! Mr Smith's Tutor, in the Design Tech wing! Thank God for that. D'you want to walk together?"

"Yeah, sounds good... So, you're American?"

"Yep. I moved here about a month ago, with my brother."

"Cool. I guess it must be pretty weird being here in England, with the... rain and the... accents?"

"Yeah. Though I'm a little more used to it now. We're staying with our aunt, and she keeps trying to immerse us in 'British culture'. Which basically means we must've watched Harry Potter at least a hundred time, and eaten fish and chips every night."

John laughed.

They reached a room, which their timetables told them was their Tutor room. They looked at each other, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Not many people were there yet, but the ones that were looked at them in equal measures of surprise and curiosity. A man, who was sitting at the desk at the front, glanced up with questioning in his eyes. He had blonde hair and brown eyes; he was the kind of teacher that most of the girls and a surprising number of the boys drooled over. And boy did he know it.

"Uhm..." John stammered.

"We're new students," Dean said, stepping forwards.

"Ah yes. Name?"

"Dean Winchester."

"John Watson."

"Okie dokie. I'm Mr Smith, and I assume from the fact that you found your way here on time that you've been given your maps and timetables?"

They nodded in the affirmative, and Mr Smith then consulted his seating plan and sat them down. Dean was at the back of the class, on a nearly empty table of four. The one, small, plain-looking boy that sat opposite him smiled quickly and then looked away. Dean smirked grimly. This was obviously going to be the Party Table of Fun.

John was sitting way at the front, at a table of two next to a tall boy with curly black hair. Dean decided to keep an eye on him; after all, he was by far the closest thing he had to a friend in this class.

The class slowly filled out a little after the second bell went. A low, relaxed chatter seemed to grow with every person who arrived. Mr Smith didn't say anything to anyone who came into the room, but just seemed absorbed in his work on the computer. Dean wondered if he was checking Facebook.

Once seemingly everyone had arrived, Mr Smith took the roll call. He spoke a little bit afterwards about the hopes he had for the year ahead, and basically bored everyone to sleep. Then he went back to his computer, and let everyone continue talking.

After what felt like hours of listening to everyone else's conversations and not saying anything himself, the bell went. Dean was one of the first out of the classroom, and waited for John.

"Have you got Media Studies next?"

"Uhm... No. Sorry, I'm not even taking Media a Studies."

"Oh. Okay. What are you taking?"

"Art, English Literature, History and English Language. How about you?"

"History, Geography, and Engineering. And Media Studies, of course."

When the letter had come asking Dean about his Year 12 options, he'd just picked pretty much randomly. Whatever he had a basic knowledge of and looked like it wouldn't bore him to death, he took.

This ought to be fun, he thought, and made his way to Media Studies.

 

Lunch.

Easily the best part of the day.

Except maybe home time.

Things had gone quite slowly for Dean, and he was both surprised and pleased to find that he hadn't aged at least ten years by the time 1:30 pm came round. He'd tried to talk to people wherever possible, and found that everyone overall seemed okay. No one stuck out particularly as a friend to him, but he had expected that. 

Now he was looking forward to seeing Sam again (he hadn't managed to find him at lunch).

But first, Dean wanted food. He heard somewhere that today in the canteen they were serving apple pie. He hoped it was good - if not, he would be seriously considering moving back to America.

He queued to get into the canteen, which was a small roped-off area in the corner of the hall. He queued to get his apple pie. He queued to pay. Say what you like about the British, but they do spend a lot of their lives queuing.

Then he looked around the benches spread out in the hall for Sam. He was used to trying to find his brother in a crowd, and had long since mastered the technique. First, look for the height. Then, look for the hair. Finally, make sure that the figure you think is Sam is around the edge of the gathering (he doesn't like to be in the middle). Bingo - you've found the Moose.

Dean walked over to Sam, carrying his bowl of pie in one hand and his bag in the other.

"Check it out, Sammy. They do pie here. Good pie, too."

He slumped down onto the bench next to his brother, and started shovelling the food into his mouth. Very good pie.

"You want some?" Dean asked, noticing how his brother was picking at his salad. 

"Uhm... No thanks, Dean. By the way... This is Castiel."

Sam leaned back slightly, and Dean noticed for the first time the boy sitting on his other side. He had dark hair, messed up fashionably (but in an I-just-woke-up-I-swear kind of way) and paralysingly blue eyes. His blazer was undone, and his tie crooked. He was clearly shorter than both Winchesters (but who isn't?). There was no food in front of him, but he seemed quite content to watch Sam and Dean eat.

For reasons that Dean couldn't quite comprehend, his breath hitched in his throat and his spoon froze in mid-air halfway to his mouth.

"Hello."

One word, from the boy Castiel, in a deep, smooth, perfect British accent. Dean felt a slight shiver wander down his back, and then tried to snap himself out of it.

"Hi," Dean said awkwardly, and cleared his throat, "I'm Dean, Sam's brother."

"I'd noticed," Castiel smiled calmly, seemingly unfazed by the random stranger staring at him.

Sam looked between the two of them, and then down at his salad. 

"Castiel's kind of an... Unusual name. Cool though," Dean said, in what Sam could only assume was an attempt at a light, conversational tone.

"Well, my father's kind of a religious nut. If you think I have it bad, well... One of my brothers is called Gabriel, and my other brother is called Michael - he got off lightly. My oldest brother is called Lucifer."

Dean let out a low whistle.

"Jesus Christ, that's not a name you want for your kid.."

Castiel laughed. His laugh was low and warm and strangely musical. Dean could listen to it all day, it-

"So, Dean," Sam said, sharply cutting off his musings, "How've your classes been so far?"

"Not bad," Dean shot back with a cool grin, "I've had Media Studies, then a free period, then History, then a free period, and I've got Geography next."

"Ugh, how come you get free periods? It's so unfair."

"Benefits of college, little brother."

The three boys spent the rest of lunch eating, and talking about nothing much - Sam's maths class, Cas' incredibly religious family, Dean's vaguely irritating Tutor, Mr Smith... Before anyone could have known it, it was time for the next lesson.

When the bell went, they stood up and prepared to go their separate ways. Dean waved to Sam, and tried not to let his knees buckle when Castiel smiled at him. What was wrong with Dean? Castiel was just some dorky little guy in Sam's year.

Nothing more.

 

Sam and Dean trooped back into Jody's house. Dean collapsed face-down on the couch; Sam slumped at the kitchen table.

"How was school?"

Dean looked at Sam.

"You go. I'm gonna go take a nap."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lesbians and lots of flirting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um sorry for the INCREDIBLY LATE UPDATES ON EVERYTHING
> 
> I've had exams etc and I just didn't have the time or motivation
> 
> But now it's the Christmas holidays! so hopefully at least one more update should be on the way

Over the next few weeks, life became much more settled for the Winchesters. They began to get used to their comfortable routine of school, homework and Aunt Jody's excellent cooking. They could almost pretend that they had grown up in England as a happy family for their whole lives - but the American twang to their voices remained, as did the memories they didn't want to think about.

Dean's daily life during the week was generally as such: 

7:30 am - wake up, get dressed, grab something to eat, scribble out some homework and head to school  
8:35 - sit around in Tutor for twenty minutes and then get through two lessons  
11:00 - spend break time in the library studying or doing fuck all  
11:20 - get through another two lessons  
1:30 pm - go to lunch and find Sammy and Cas  
3:00 - walk home and sleep until dinner

It wasn't a bad life to be honest.

 

It was one of those regular days at school. By regular, I mean boring. Not that Dean really cared - boring meant safe, and safe meant happy. It was the middle of break, and Dean was sitting at a table in the library in between some bookshelves 'trying' to do some Geography homework (he was really just on his phone trying not to think about actually doing the work). 

Libraries are very quiet places; peaceful, calm, and nearly silent. Or at least, they're meant to be. So when Dean suddenly became aware of the sounds of female laughter, coming from over the other side of the bookshelf in front of him, he was a little annoyed (though he would have been more annoyed if he actually had any intention to do work). But he couldn't help feeling like the laughter was vaguely directed at him. Whether the laughter was mocking or flattering, he didn't know, but he just sighed and stretched. Anything right now would make a good distraction from the homework in front of him.

After a few more minutes of not doing work, break was nearly over and Dean decided to pack up his things and start walking to History. However, before he could get too far, the sources of the giggling emerged from behind the shelves. 

It was two girls - both with bright red hair. They might've been mistaken for sisters, only they were completely different. One had short, wavy hair that just brushed past her ears, with a smile that seemed to emit sunshine and happiness. The other had longer hair that went to her shoulders - she was shorter and curvier than her friend, with more of a smirk that seemed to know something that Dean didn't. They both looked about two years younger than him.

They made their way over to Dean's table, and he prepared himself for the inevitable.

"Hello," said the taller of the two, flashing him a smile.

"Hi," Dean muttered, trying to clean up his things as fast as he could. He was pretty used to this kind of attention, and on most days he would've even appreciated it, but today he didn't feel in the mood.

"So, you're American then?" Said the smaller girl.

"Yeah, me and my brother came over here over the summer."

"That's cool. I'm Donna, by the way - this is Charlie," said Donna, and Charlie waved awkwardly.

"I'm Dean."

"Nice to meet you Dean. So-"

"Look, uh, Donna, I'm flattered but I kinda have to get to class."

"You're flattered?" Donna repeated, confused.

"Yeah, I'm flattered that you're trying, but-"

"Trying to what?" Donna interjected, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms.

"Trying to, you know... flirt with me. And I appreciate the compliment, but-"

"Dude, you do realise we're gay, don't you?" Charlie said with raised eyebrows.

Dean stopped for a second and looked at them.

"You're what?"

"Lesbians... It's when a woman loves another woman's vagina very much, and-" 

Donna was unable to finish her sentence, as Charlie then proceeded to elbow her in the stomach.

"Oh."

"Yep," said Donna, massaging her stomach, "You looked kind of lonely here all by yourself, and we'd heard you were new, so we thought we'd come say hi. Did you really think I was trying to flirt with you?"

Donna had a very irritated and vaguely offended look on her face, and Charlie didn't look too happy either. Dean silently cursed himself for angering them - he didn't have time for this, and it had actually been kinda nice of them to come over, in hindsight.

"Um... Yeah?"

Donna glared at him, and then her lips started twitching. In seconds, they were both laughing fully: mouth wide open, head thrown back. Dean just kind of stood there with a confused but grateful smile on his face - at least they no longer seemed to want to kill him.

"Oh honey," Donna said, having calmed down slightly, "If I was really flirting with you, you'd know."

She winked at Dean, and Charlie elbowed her once again.

Before anything else could be said, the bell rang and all of the students moved toward the door in unison.

"Thank God," moaned Donna, as they made their way out of the library, "I hate it in there so much. It's so stuffy and quiet."

"Yeah but it's peaceful - and good for if you want to get away from people," Charlie pointed out.

"I guess. Unless you end up getting approached by random lesbians, eh Dean?" Donna laughed, nudging him. 

Dean just shook his head and smiled. Donna continued: "Anyway, it's a relief to get out of there to be honest. We were saved by the bell, for once! Donna Noble has left the library, Donna Noble has been saved!"

They all laughed, and then went their separate ways. Dean made his way to History, and reflected with surprise upon the fact that he wouldn't enjoy the lesson anywhere near as much as he had enjoyed the last few minutes of break.

-

Sam was bored. It was towards the end of third period Science, and the minutes seemed to drift past like hours. The clock had been stuck at 12:15 pm for what felt like days now. The teacher was droning on and on about something to do with electrons, but Sam just wanted to leave the dullness of this lesson behind. Ten more minutes...

When the bell finally, finally, finally rang, he almost sprinted out of the room, barely waiting to be dismissed - though he slowed to a walk when he got to the cool air outside. The wind brushed his face gently, and he felt calmer. He began to make his way to English.

Unfortunately, Sam only made it to the first floor hallway without disaster. He had just turned a corner, when suddenly - BAM

A boy considerably smaller than Sam collided with him at full force. Being the size of your average giant, it wasn't enough to send Sam to the floor - but it pushed his bag and books out of his arms and onto the ground.

With a heavy sigh, he knelt to pick them up, and only to find that the boy who had knocked them over was doing the same.

"You alright?" Asked the stranger jovially, as though Sam was just sitting on the floor for the fun of it. He seemed to be about a year older than Sam, and he had floppy golden-brown hair and hazel eyes that twinkled with a smile of mischief. There was an air of arrogance about him, but he had a happy grin and a cheerful face. 

Sam glared at him. He was not in the mood at the moment.

"Okie dokie then," said the boy in response to Sam's silence, "I haven't seen you about, are you new? What's your name?"

Sam sighed. He didn't have time for this. He continued to shove books and equipment into his bag, with the stranger watching.

"I'm Sam, Sam Winchester. I have to get to class now, okay?" He said eventually.

"Nice to meet you Sam. The name's Bond, James Bond."

Sam rolled his eyes and started to walk away. The stranger only ran to catch up with him.

"So Samantha, what do you have next?"

"Can't you just leave me alone?"

"Ooh, that's mean. And no, I can't. I'm on a secret mission that you can't tell anyone about. I'd tell you what it is, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Oh really, James Bond?"

"Yep. Look, I know you're desperate to know my real name and my phone number, but I just can't! MI7 won't let me!"

"Fuck off."

The stranger stopped in the middle of the hallway, and put his hand over his heart dramatically.

"Samwich, your words really hurt, you know that?"

"I said fuck off."

The irritating 'James Bond' ran to catch up with him once again.

"Fine, it's Gabriel, okay? They call me Gabriel."

Sam looked at him quickly, confused.

"What?"

"My name's Gabriel."

"Gabriel?"

"Don't laugh - my parents are religious freaks."

Sam lets a small smile onto his face, and in response Gabriel's grin grows big enough for both of them. Then Sam remembers something.

"Hey - is your brother Castiel Novak?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, it's just we're friends."

Gabriel looked pleasantly surprised.

"Well, would you look at that? Clearly we were always destined to meet, Sampunzel!"

Sam shook his head.

"I don't think you get to mock my name now that I know what your's is."

Gabriel's retort was cut off by the bell.

"Shit, I need to get to English," Sam exclaimed.

"Fuck English, I need to get to PE!" Gabriel laughed - the kind of laugh when you know you're doomed and all you can do is laugh. There was no way he'd get to PE in time to avoid a detention. Sam almost found himself joining in, but caught himself in time. No matter what, Gabriel was still incredibly annoying.

"See you around, MC Sammer!"

"I fucking hate you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why you always lyyyin


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting people, flirting, and the introduction of a VIC (Very Important Character)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda short but oh well and happy New Year, the Sherlock Special is on in 25 minutes and I'm lowkey freaking out

"It's definitely pronounced 'al-yew-min-ee-um'. That's how it's written, so that's how it's said!"

"Now see that's where you're wrong, Cas. It's makes way more sense for it to be 'al-oo-min-um'!"

This lunch break was going the only way that it really could have done when there were two Americans and and English person present; arguing.

"Come on Sam, back me up here!" Cas looked pleadingly at his friend whilst Dean took the time to put more apple pie in his mouth.

"Sorry Cas, but I'm with Dean on this one. It's just quicker and easier to say it like a-loo-min-um."

"But it's not written like that - it has an 'i' in it that you're completely missing out."

"The 'i' is silent!"

"I wish you'd be silent too."

They were just laughing about Cas' retort and the grumpy look on his face that he got whenever anyone disagreed with him, when suddenly they were joined by someone. The someone (a boy with longish light brown hair and eyes that grinned with mischief) went up behind Cas, and put their hands over his eyes.

"Guess who, Cassy!"

"Fuck off, Gabriel."

'Gabriel' released Cas' head and grinned at him, leaving Dean feeling generally confused. Who was this guy, and how did he know Cas? Why did he call him Cassy? Dean looked over at Sam in the hopes some sort of explanation, only to find his brother in the process of rolling his eyes and looking grumpily at his fruit salad. Of course this only heightened Dean's befuddlement.

"Now now now, that's not a very nice thing to say! Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends? I mean, I've already met ol' Samuel over there, but who's this guy?" He gestured at Dean.

Dean looked between Sam, who seemed to be blushing in a way that seemed far too angry to be healthy, and Cas, who looked as though he would rather be anywhere but here. When neither spoke, he decided to introduce himself.

"I'm Dean Winchester. Who are you?"

"I'm Gabriel Novak, Cas' brother. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't recognise you - he goes on about you enough, isn't that right Cassy?"

As he spoke, Gabriel slid into the seat next to Cas, and nudged him gently in the ribs to emphasise the end of his sentence. Cas responded by going red and looking down at the lunch table as though he wanted to die.

"So, um, how did you know Sam?' Dean said, ignoring Gabriel's comment and trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"We had an... encounter in the hallway a few days ago," Gabriel grinned and threw a wink to Sam, who glared back at him and then looked away quickly. Dean wondered if they'd had a physical fight. After all, the way their father had dealt with Sam being bullied when they were kids was to teach him to punch. Sam generally preferred to use his words, but he was good at fighting when he had to.

Dean wasn't too sure that he liked this Gabriel much.

After a few minutes of awkward eating and nothing being said, Gabriel finally got to the original reason he'd come over.

"So, Cassy, I need you to let Dad know that I'm gonna be late home tonight."

"Why can't you let him know?"

"Because I won't be at home and therefore can't tell him, idiot," Gabriel responded calmly. The way he spoke didn't sound like he was particularly trying to insult Cas - more like 'idiot' was a fond nickname he'd given him.

"Why can't you just text him?"

"You know what he's like - he never answers or even looks at his texts, particularly when they're from me."

Cas rolled his eyes.

"You're just paranoid."

"Is that a yes then?"

"Where are you going and how late are you going to be?" Cas sighed. Gabriel grinned at him.

"I should be back in time for dinner. And you can tell him I'll be at History revision."

"Won't you be?"

"That, little brother, would be telling."

Before Cas could reply, two red-headed girls came over and sat in the seats next to Gabriel.

"Gabe, are you ready to head up to English? The bell's about to go," said Donna, checking the time on her phone.

"Hey Dean," said Charlie in surprise.

"Hey Charlie, hey Donna. What's up?"

Gabriel looked between the two girls and Dean.

"You guys all know each other?"

"Yeah we, ah, met in the library," Dean smiled.

"I feel like we've all met each other, but separately. Maybe we should all reintroduce ourselves!"

"Please let's not do that," said Sam quietly. Gabriel stuck his tongue out at him, but left it at that.

And, when Gabriel, Charlie and Donna stood up to start walking to English, he swiped one of the grapes from Sam's left over fruit salad, and winked at him before hurrying to catch up with the girls. Dean wondered if he had a twitchy eye, the amount of times he'd winked at Sam in the short space of a few minutes.

"No offence Cas, but your brother is one of the most irritating people I've ever met," said Sam as they packed away their things.

"It's how he shows affection," Cas said mildly. Sam paused momentarily in his movement and ducked his head, embarrassed.

 

-

 

Donna and Charlie were stood on the road outside the school gates, waiting. It was long past 3pm, but they were still standing there.

"Are you sure he's going to show up?" Said Charlie for the umpteenth time.

"I've never been surer about anything in my life. He always shows up, you know he does."

"Yeah, but it's usually a lot earlier than this. It's already a month into the school year and he hasn't been in yet. I mean, I know he's never here on the first few days. But what if he's not coming back, Donna?"

"Stop worrying, okay? He texted a week ago to say he'd be in soon, and then he texted yesterday to say he'd come see us after school and be in tomorrow. He's coming."

They lapsed into silence, but their hands felt out each other's presence, and joined together. The atmosphere was cold and worried, but at least they weren't alone.

Eventually, after 4 o'clock had come and gone, the roar of a car hummed from way down the road. Donna jerked into action, dragging her girlfriend with her as they ran towards the noise. When the car came into view, they both whooped and cheered loudly, causing birds the flutter, startled, out of the trees behind them.

The car was old and falling apart - it was a few generations old and probably should have gone to the scrapyard years ago. But at the same time, it was in surprisingly good condition. The metal gleamed with pride, and the inside was all soft leather seats and polished gears. The car was painted a deep shade of blue, and was known affectionately as the TARDIS by all who had ridden in it, a nickname taken from it's registration plate, which read T4R D1S0

It drew to a stop next to the two girls, and out stepped a boy who was a few years older than them and seemed to be carrying the world on his back. He had brown hair that was styled into a gravity-defying quiff, and wore a trademark pinstriped brown suit and a tan overcoat.

"Doctor!"

His face broke into a smile too big for his face, and hurried to embrace Donna and Charlie.

"Oh, it's so good to see you! How are you?"

"You know, same old same old," said the Doctor, though this time the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, "How are you two? What have I missed since the end of last year? Nothing much, I'm guessing."

"Nothing much just about sums it up. School's still school, the people are all still people. But it's so good to have you back!"

"Yeah, welcome back Doctor!"

 

-

 

Some things you should probably know about the Doctor:  
> His family died in a fire when he was 8 and a half years old. He was 'lucky to survive' - though he didn't feel lucky.  
> For most of his life he'd moved from one foster family to another. But now that he was 19, he had bought his own flat and was finally able to live his life how he chose.  
> Despite being 19, he was still attending Reichenbach Academy. He was redoing his exams, but it didn't really matter too much to him what grades he got.  
> Every summer he took the TARDIS on a long roadtrip around England that lasted several months. He never returned in time for the beginning of the school year, and no one really knew exactly where he went.  
> 'The Doctor' isn't his real name, of course. But no one knows or uses his real name; it died in the fire with his parents.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An evil Physics teacher, and quite a lot of awkwardness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello so basically I don't ever update during the week when I'm at school but I thought hey why not do some writing now that it's the weekend. Sorry that the updates will probably be few and far between (and pretty shit lmao)

"So Dean, how's school going?"

Dean was sat at the kitchen table, with his feet crossed on it (though when Aunt Jody gave him a stern look, he sheepishly brought them down). He had his phone in one hand and a bagel in the other, and he was waiting for Sam to get ready for school. It was the long hair, he supposed, that made Sam take ages.

"It's going alright. How's work going?"

"It's going alright," mimicked Aunt Jody with a smile. Dean stuck his tongue out at her, and she went back to looking for her coat. Though after a few minutes, she continued:

"D'you know how your brother's getting on? He seems kinda... quiet."

"He's working hard, I think. Preparing for his exams - those CGSE's."

"They're called GCSE's. And I guess that sounds about right; the teachers always make a big thing outta them, even though he won't be doing them until next May/June."

"I'll try and get him to lighten up and relax while he still can, though he's always been a huge nerd so I don't know how well that'll go. Besides, I'm not really complaining; if his teachers are giving him work to be doing and he's doing it then that's a good thing, right?"

"I suppose. Just make sure he doesn't work himself too hard. Maybe... Maybe at the weekends, or after school, or something, you should spend some time with your friends? Y'know, the ones you're always mentioning... Charlie? Donna? The boy with the odd name that I can't remember?"

"Cas. And I'll see if I can arrange something, Jody."

Aunt Jody laughed, and picked up her coat.

"Alright, alright, I know when to drop something. I'd best be off now, so I'll see you when I get home later, Dean. If you get hungry after school there's bread in the freezer, but apart from that I'll probably be doing something pasta-related for dinner."

"Okay."

"Have a good day!"

"You too!"

Aunt Jody left the kitchen and yelled goodbye to Sam a few times as she went down the hallway. When he didn't respond, she addressed Dean instead.

"Dean? That brother of yours probably has his headphones in again. Can you tell him I say goodbye and have a nice day?"

"Yep."

The slam of the door came in response, and Dean ran up the stairs to Sam's room.

"Sammy?" He knocked on the door, "Are you done braiding your hair? We need to head off to school soon."

"Uh, yeah. I'll be down in a sec."

Dean shrugged, and went back downstairs. A few minutes later, a yawning Sam entered the kitchen, dumped his bag on a chair, and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

"I'm not used to being up before you," Dean grinned at his brother, "I'm usually the lazy one who's sleeping in."

"I wasn't sleeping in, I was doing homework," Sam rolled his eyes (he hated any insult to his 'laziness').

"The morning that it's due? Woah little brother, I'm proud of you!"

"It's not due today, but my teacher'll probably be setting even more this lesson. I need to stay on top of it."

"What subject is it for?"

"Physics."

"Just the word is enough to fill me with dread," Dean shuddered, "So who's this demon teacher that's setting all the homework?"

"He's called Mr Zel. And I hate him."

"I think everyone would hate a Physics teacher who seems to be obsessively setting homework, to be fair."

Sam sighed, and brought a hand up to his face. Dean wondered how much sleep he'd got last night.

"It's not just that. He keeps... Singling me out in lesson. I'm yet to have a Physics lesson where he hasn't addressed at least five of the questions to me specifically."

"Well, sometimes you just have those teachers that hate you, and there's nothing you can do. Try not to worry about it too much, Sammy."

Sam opened his mouth as though he was about to respond, but then seemed to think better of it. Instead he looked around at the kitchen that was empty apart from the two of them.

"Where's Jody?"

"Oh, she left a few minutes ago. Said to say goodbye to you, and to tell you to have a good day."

Sam nodded vaguely, and just stared into space. After a few seconds, Dean nudged him.

"Sam? School, remember?"

"Right, yes. Let's go."

 

-

 

It was lunchtime. Dean was juggling a sandwich, a bag of crisps, and his phone - he stood outside the canteen, where he usually met Sam and Cas. Except today neither had shown up.

Dean was waiting for a few long minutes, before he finally sensed a presence at his shoulder.

"Hey Cas," he said, before noticing what was missing, "Where's Sam?"

"I'm not sure. I think he had Spanish last lesson."

"Oh okay. We should probably wait here for him."

They stood around for around for around ten minutes, talking about Cas' French teacher and Dean's Geography lessons. It was nice talking to Cas, and Dean almost forgot that they were waiting for his brother to turn up.

And then, quite suddenly, Cas focused on something behind Dean. His eyes grew into a confused frown, and his voice trailed off on the sentence he had been saying.

"Cas? You okay?"

Dean started to look around, but Cas grabbed his arm quickly and stopped him.

"Dean," he leaned in and whispered, "It's nothing. Just someone I didn't expect to see."

"Who?" Dean whispered, unsure of why he was whispering.

"Okay, look quickly over there like you're looking for Sam. See that guy with the brown hair and the brown eyes who isn't in school uniform?"

"Yeah...?" Dean looked back at Cas with some concern. Had his friend gone mad?

"His name's Fredric Lehne, but everyone calls him Yellow-Eyes. He's practically a legend here - and not the good kind."

"Why?"

"Well, he was expelled about two years ago. They say that he locked a group of teachers in the science block and tried to set fire to it."

"Shiiiit," Dean breathed, "Shouldn't he be in prison? Or at some other school? Or anywhere but here?"

"Thing is, he didn't actually set fire to the science block. They caught him before he could do it. For some reason, the police eventually decided that he was innocent, and he was let go. No one's really seen him since."

"So what's he doing here?"

"Exactly. Of course, a lot of this is speculation. But it's commonly accepted as fact, and- shit. He's walking towards us!"

Dean barely had time to register Cas' panicked swearing, when suddenly Yellow-Eyes was walking coolly towards them, towards them, towards them- and past them, and in the direction of the doors that led to the Science classrooms.

But before he could reach the doors... He looked behind him. Directly at Dean's face, directly at Cas's back. Yellow-Eyes stared straight into Dean's eyes, and a smirk twisted at his mouth. For a second, Dean could have sworn he saw a glint of fire in those eyes.

And then he was gone.

"Well, he seems charming," Dean murmured sarcastically, and looked down at Cas, who seemed terrified.

"Dean, he is not someone that you want to get on the wrong side of."

"No shit."

Before they had time to calm down properly, a voice came from behind them.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Sam."

"Where've you been?" Dean asked, crossing his arms.

"In the library," Sam replied, also crossing his arms in the Classic Winchester Stance.

"In the library?"

"Yes, the library. It's a place that most schools have, with these funny things called books. Maybe you should go there some time?"

"Well, next time you decide to spend most of lunch break being a nerd with a bunch of books, at least let Cas know, okay?"

"Alright," Sam rolled his eyes, as Cas looked between the two of them with amusement, "Can we go sit down now? I'm hungry."

 

-

 

"I think you need a haircut, Sammy," Dean said, thoughtfully eating his crisps, "Like seriously, just give me a few minutes with some scissors..."

"Shut up, Dean."

"Yeah, shut up Dean," came a cheerful voice, "Sam's hair is fine the way it is, all flowing and majestic!"

Sam looked like he was about to choke on his salad as Gabriel sat down next to him, and Charlie and Donna sat down next to Dean (who was wondering what excuse Gabriel would give for coming to see them today).

"Was 'flowing and majestic' really the look you were going for, Sam?" Dean grinned at him.

"Aw, leave him alone you guys," Charlie chimed in, "Sam, your hair looks fine."

"Thank you Charlie. At least someone knows how to be supportive," Sam looked pointedly at Dean.

"Hey, in what world was what I said not supportive?" Gabriel yelped.

Sam ignored him, and Gabriel turned to Cas instead.

"Hey Cassy, I'm going to History revision again tonight."

"Again?"

"Yep. I'm kind of failing it. Also, the teacher's hot so I'm pretty happy to be getting... Special tuition," Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and then looked over at Sam, "Hey, the revision sessions are open to year 10's as well, if you want to come, Sam?"

Sam looked caught off guard by the question, and Dean exchanged a glance with Cas.

"Sorry, I have a lot of Science work to be doing tonight," he said, with what could almost be mistaken for regret.

"More Physics?" Sighed Dean sceptically.

"Biology, actually."

"Why do you have so much Science homework at the moment? When I did Science, y'know back in the day, I barely scraped through it!"

"It's called 'working hard', Dean. Plus, I'm taking Triple Science, so each of the three Sciences is individually taught, with triple the opportunities for homework to be set.

"Wow, I don't envy you."

"Me neither."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tall, dark not-quite stranger is introduced once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah this is so short and shit I apologise in advance

"Blah blah blah something about attendance, blah blah there's an assembly next Monday, blah joke that only I seem to find funny blah..."

Mr Smith was droning on, and on, and on. It was only five minutes until Tutor was over, but Dean couldn't take much more of the guy's irritatingly posh voice and his I-know-you-all-love-me smile. Five more minutes... Four more minutes... Three more minutes...

When there were two minutes left, the door swung open. In walked a guy who was roughly a year older than Dean; he had brown hair that stuck up from his forehead, and brown eyes that looked as though they'd seen the entire universe. He was wearing the school blazer but without the badge, and his tie was crooked. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Ah, Doctor," said Mr Smith with a dry smile as though he'd been expecting this, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

Dean looked between the teacher and the student, confused. This guy was a doctor? He didn't look old enough.

The Doctor nodded in the vague direction of Mr Smith, and passed his eyes over the classroom. He seemed to recognise it.

"Here's your timetable. They told me you might be coming in today," Mr Smith handed him a sheet of paper with his lessons on it. They clearly knew each other, but a certain amount of dislike was shared between them. My enemy's enemy is my friend. Maybe this 'doctor' wouldn't be too bad.

Without direction, the boy walked away from Mr Smith and sat in the empty seat next to Dean, though he barely sat down before the bell rang and they were dismissed.

"Wait up!" Dean called as the doctor started walking out of the classroom. He didn't really expect a response, but to his surprise the guy turned around.

"What?" He said coolly but not unkindly.

"Uh... What's your name? Why are you joining halfway through the year?"

"I'm the Doctor."

Dean noticed that he hadn't acknowledged the second question, but decided to try a joke instead.

"Do you also have a sister called the Nurse, then?"

The Doctor seemed to be trying not to smile as he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"How about a cousin called the Surgeon?"

"Please stop," he said. He'd heard the same jokes a billion times, but it felt refreshing to hear them being said without even a hint of maliciousness, "If you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."

"Hold on! My name's Dean Winchester, and it really is nice to meet you, Doctor."

The Doctor gave a small smile, before once more turning away.

 

-

 

Sam was waiting with Cas by the canteen. They'd been waiting for several minutes, before Dean eventually got round to texting him.

"He says he's staying behind in Media to talk to the teacher for a bit, and to go find a table to sit at."

"That's kind of unlike Dean, to be staying in lesson longer than he needs to."

"Yeah, but I've seen his Media teacher around. She's really hot - so in that sense, it's very like Dean."

They laughed, and went to go sit down. However, before they could they were ambushed by the sound of friendly shouts.

"Sam! Cas! Over here!"

They traced the source of the shouting to two familiar red-haired girls, and one brown-haired boy. Except the boy wasn't the usual laughing figure of Gabriel that Sam recognised. He had dark hair that was heavily styled, a crooked tie, and deep eyes that seemed to look through souls.

"Gabe's ill today, so we decided to replace him with this one," Charlie explained and pointed to the guy as they sat down, "Cas, you remember the Doctor, don't you?"

"Of course I do - it's great to see you again!"

"You too, Cas," said the Doctor warmly, before looking over at Sam, "I am the aforementioned Doctor."

"I'm Sam, Sam Winchester."

The Doctor seemed to examine him for a few seconds, before coming to a conclusion.

"I met your brother Dean this morning. He asked me if I had a sister called the Nurse."

"That sounds like Dean alright," Sam said apologetically as the others laughed.

"Speaking of Dean, where is he?" Donna interjected.

"He's stayed behind at Media to talk to the teacher," Sam smirked.

"Ooh, is that Miss Mabilson? To be fair to Dean, if I had her for Media I'd never leave her classroom," sighed Charlie, while Donna glared comically into the distance, and Charlie put her arm around her girlfriend and kissed the side of her head. They were too goddamn cute.


End file.
